Shower and Nursery

Well on the weekend of December 5th- my wonderful friend Nichole, with the help from Marjorie, Kathy and my mom, hosted a very wonderful baby shower for me. It was such a special day!! The theme was 'A Baby Girl is Blossoming' so my mom had some wonderful decorations to follow the theme. A friend of mine from work, Betty, made a beautiful layered cake that also had the blossoms theme. It was very exciting that Jeanne, Matt's mom (aka Uma) flew in all way from North Carolina to come to the shower!! We were so happy that she came, and made the day so special to spend it with friends and family. Thank you to everyone that chipped in for such a wonderful event! The day was topped off at the end when Nichole announced to me that she was pregnant....with TWINS! How exciting that I get to go through pregnancy, and then motherhood with such a close friend. Here are some pics from the shower....

The hostesses with the most.... (not pictured Kathy!)

Granny and Uma

Anthony came for a little bit!!

Betty with her beautiful cake!

The Book Club Girls

Betty, Me, Pam and Lydia

(Girls from Advanced Programs)

And, The second part of this post, I know I mentioned the nursery... so before the shower I was hoping to have the baby's room all done being painted! Well Matt definitely worked hard to get the purple and yellow complete, not to mention putting together the crib and sanding and refinishing the dresser. Then my dad came down from Silverthorne to paint animals on the wall to match our bedding. It turned out AWESOME! Every time I walk in the room I feel like I am part of a cartoon. Hopefully you can tell by the pictures how awesome the painting is. We still have a little bit of work to do, and some final items to purchase before the room is ready...but we have definitely made some great progress.

And as for the pregnancy....well... 6 weeks 2 days and counting :) The third trimester has definitely been the hardest for me. I feel more tired, and of course the aches and pains are starting to settle in. Every time I look down at my ankles I get surprised at first and think "ohhh I don't remember spraining my ankle" but then I remember that I am just swollen! ha! Other than the swelling, and added fatigue I feel pretty good, and I know it is all worth it for when we get to meet our baby girl. Anyways, here are the pictures of the adorable animals in the nursery.

Thanksgiving...

Yeah I know, I am a week and a half behind of posting about Thanksgiving. And well... I blame it on the exhaustion of being pregnant :) ha ha...

Anyways, the Friia household had quite the busy Thanksgiving. And it was a blast!!!! We are so thankful that we had so many family members come to spend to the day/weekend with us. It is always hard for us with Matt's schedule to be able to travel on holidays, so it is so special to us when we have guests. We had Auntie Cheri, Uncle Troy, Sophie, Lainee and Jess come down from Upton, my mom came from Cheyenne, my brother Anthony and his wife Abbey with their son Jayce came from Nebraska, my dad came down from the mountains, and Rob and Kathy came over. It was a full house but like I said, we had such a blast. After cooking way too much food, and eating way too much...wait I think I was the only one that ate too much, in fact the table got cleared while I was still eating! Anyways, after the feast, Kathy sang and played the piano and my dad played and sang to the guitar. It was so great having everyone sit around and sing all the songs. And after every song Jayce would say "More again". He just loved hearing all the music, and he even sang along to some of the songs. We were just so happy to have a house full of so many wonderful family members.

Then after the dinner me, Cheri, Lainee and Sophie, and Matt for a little bit, drove down to Castle Rock for the Moonlight Madness shopping sale. I went crazy in the Carter's store, and bought all kinds of clothes ranging from newborn to 18 mos! The sales were great, but we were pretty worn out after getting home around 1:30AM.

Friday night we all went to the Nuggets game and watched them beat the Chicago Bulls, with a buzzer beater, game winning shot by Carmelo Anthony! Needless to say it was an exciting and very eventful weekend!!

Here are some pics from Thanksgiving Day!

Shoe Fetish

Okay, I know on a previous post I talked a little about Matt's shoes. So first I was getting all worried about preparing bambino's room because Matt's shoes were taking up the whole closet. So finally he took down the closet and moved his shoes. Well... they moved into the spare room, where his shoes covered the bed and all the floor space in that room. Soon enough that didn't work anymore because we had to have a place for guests to stay, so finally Matt created a wall for his shoes. Yes a wall. I counted today and he has 86 pairs of shoes. I would say 90, but Matt says we can't count his "old" pairs of shoes at the Pepsi Center. This is also after he got rid of 6 pairs! Oh, and YES he wears them all.... CRAZY!

So anyways, every season when Matt travels with the team to Portland he is given a certificate to shop at the Nike employee's store. He came home Thursday night with shoes for our little girl! My first thought is 'OH NO! He is starting her collection already!!' Let's hope she doesn't have the same fetish as Daddy :) They are definitely very adorable.

Here are some pics of the shoes! First of Matt's shoe wall. ha ha

So the picture below is of the shoes for bambino!! The pic of the black shoes (second from right) doesn't really do them justice...they are black with purple sparkles with purple shocks! So stylin'!! The shoes on the right are pink hightops with fur, and second from left are converse shoes with cows.

Here is a picture of the adorable purple shocks next to a pair of daddy's shocks :) They look so tiny next to Matt's giant size 12!

Memory Lane...

What an awesome weekend!!

My mom and I traveled to Pinedale this weekend for a nice trip to meet with old friends and visit the old stomping grounds. It was so great to see everyone again, and of course see how much Pinedale has grown. I haven't been back since last August when I went for my 10 year class reunion.

Mom and I stayed with Karly and Joey at their gorgeous house that Joey built. On Saturday Karly had a brunch/baby shower for me with all the old gang - It wasn't the typical baby shower with only women, everyone was invited. It was so great to sit and visit with everyone, oh and of course show off the ever growing belly! :)

After the shower Karly, mom and I drove up to Fremont Lake and walked around the campground loop. Karly and I found the Aspen tree that we had carved in K+C = BF (Karly plus Carey equals Best Friends) I guess the whole BFF thing wasn't created yet! ha. But as you can tell from the picture it has grown in quite a bit. As we were walking away we realized that we carved that masterpiece 20 years ago!! It is so great to have a friendship that lasts that long...seriously talk about Best Friends Forever!!! Thanks for a fun party Karly, and a great weekend.

Oh and by the way... The Nuggets lost to New Orleans on Friday night, but came back to beat Houston on Saturday night (that's the reason Matt was not in attendance for the weekend fun in Pinedale)

Can you see the K+C=BF?

Tayte, Carey and Karly

North Carolina

Last weekend (the weekend of September 25th) we flew to Durham North Carolina for 4 days to celebrate Matt's mom's (Jeanne) wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding, with a weekend full of fun. We arrived Wednesday night so it was nice to spend Thursday with Jeanne and David before all the events of the weekend took place. They also had a southern style buffet for their rehearsal dinner on Friday night. Mmmmmm Fried chicken! ha! One morning we had the discussion with Jeanne and David of what they wanted to be called by bambino. Jeanne had decided on "Uma" which we love! And David came up with Bubba, kind of as a joke at first, but we all ended up really loving Bubba as well! So as of right now, bambino will have Uma and Bubba down in North Carolina.

As for the pregnancy, I have been feeling bambino girl a lot more, but I still can't feel distinct kicks or punches. I can just feel her moving around. I can't wait for Matt to be able to feel the kicks and movements from the outside.

Here are some pics of the weekend in North Carolina:

Matt and Carey

Matt and his brother Tim

The Bride and Groom (Uma and Bubba)

Matt and his New York Aunts (Mary, Janice and Kathy)

And Baby Friia is A....GIRL!!!!

Well, we had our ultrasound today and found out that Baby Friia is a Girl!!! A beautiful little baby girl. Such an exciting day! The appointment took quite some time today as they took many measurements of her like her heart (all 4 chambers), lungs, stomach, brain, arms and legs etc... And great news, all the measurements turned out to scale, and she is a very healthy little girl! ALso, according to the measurements, she is estimated to be about 15 oz. Almost a pound! Growing so quickly. She was definitely active during the ultrasounds, and kept wanting to suck on her little wrist the whole time. The 3D image below is really cute, you can see she has her wrist in her mouth. Matt says she is on lock down until she is 18! We will have to see about that, I can already tell that she will melt his heart and wrap him around her little finger :)

I had prepared 2 presents for Matt for today, one in case for a girl, and one for a boy! I bought a little outfit and had it wrapped and hidden in my purse. As soon as we found out we were having a girl, I gave Matt his present. The pants are the cutest little things...and the little onesie says "I Love Daddy", with a little jacket that has a cupcake on it. (See pics below!)

And here are some of the Ultrasound pics...

Half Way There and Grampi is Back!!

Well on Friday I hit the 20 weeks mark! Half way there with the pregnancy. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by, and of course how far away February 4th seems. Such a mix! It seems like we are getting things done with the preparation. The bambino's room is getting cleared out. We used to have 2 dressers in there, and the closet is still full of Matt's shoes...I won't reveal the number of pairs of shoes that are in that closet, but we used to refer to that room as "Matt's shoe room"... so needless to say it will be quite the project getting those shoes transfered to another room. But as for the dressers we got those moved out, and also transferring Xulu's bed (our cat), who used one of the dressers as her bed. She seems to be adjusting well to the new location, which makes me happy, because I get the feeling she will freak out when the baby arrives! We ended up purchasing a crib last week because we found the perfect crib on sale, and thought we better not let the deal pass us by! So as for now the plans seem to be going well/ However I am still very anxious for Tuesday the 21st to find out the sex!! This is worse than the build up for Christmas!!! I am so excited.

Here is a picture of me at 20 weeks. I have been going to my friend Tammy's (www.tammygonzalesphotography.com) Every month for belly pictures. I can't wait to compare the 8week picture with the 36 week picture! It will be amazing. We already notice a big "pop" in my belly, so it will be even better later on in the pregnancy.

Carey Belly- 20 weeks!

Grampi is Back!! Yes it is true, my dad threw in the towel on St. Thomas and has made the move away from the tropics back to the United Sates! I am so happy that bambino will have Grampi so close! Plus not to mention that I can utilize his wonderful artistic talents for painting bambino's room. This picture is of me and my dad at his friend Bobby's house in Silverthorne. What a beautiful backyard! This is where Grampi is staying for a little while, working and helping Bobby since his wife recently passed away from cancer.

Carey and Grampi at Bobby's

Carey and Matt at Bobby's

Trip to Upton

Hello Again!

Well we just spent a very eventful weekend in Upton. We drove on Friday and stayed with Cheri and Troy and family. Saturday was jam packed with lake fun at Keyhole! Of course pregnesia kicked in again, and I totally forgot the camera so I don't have any pics to share of that day. It was such a blast watching all the kids wakeboard. I say watching with my teeth gritted because I was SO wishing I was out there wakeboarding too, but me and bambino had fun anyways by floating around and just lounging in the shade. Then Sunday we went to visit Grammy in Sundance. After having lunch with her, we took her to Spearfish to go shopping at the Farmer's Market and Wal-Mart, to get her hair done, and then out to dinner. I spent most of the time asking Grammy lots of questions about her childhood and young adult years. It was such a blast listening to all her stories. Then I showed Grammy pictures of the 12 week ultrasound and she said it looks like a boy! We will just have to see, only 2 more weeks until we find out. Below are the pictures with Grammy, and the last one Lainee really wanted to take a belly picture, so here I am at 18 weeks!

Matt, Carey and Grammy

Carey and Grammy

Carey Belly at 18 weeks

Finally a Blog!!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Friia's Bino Blog! (Friia's Bambino Blog) WOO HOO we are having a baby!!!

My due date: February 4, 2011

Okay, I know I am well into the second trimester, but I have recently been asked if I have a blog yet, along with multiple other questions about the pregnancy, so Matt and I decided to go ahead and start a blog to keep those who are interested informed. Of course this first blog will be pretty lengthy- but I am certain future blogs will be much shorter. Here is a recap of my first trimester...

The HIGHS

• Mindy! What a savior! I am so lucky to have my cousin Mindy pregnant 10 weeks ahead of me. She is a pro. I am always texting her with questions. For example I will be out to dinner and want to eat something but not sure if it is safe while pregnant, so I text her to ask. She ALWAYS knows the answers, and gives me lots of advice, as well as checks in with me after my appointments. It is great!! Not to mention how much fun it will be to have our babies to play together!
  
• Matt! Okay, this may sound a bit cheesy, but Matt is the best husband ever! I will give a quick example, one night around week 8 when I was at my most tired phase, Matt was out playing volleyball and I came home STARVING. I tore apart the kitchen searching for something to eat, and made the biggest mess. Well all that tearing around made me exhausted so I turned to the couch for a nap, Matt came home and said 'My God what happened?' when I explained I was hungry then got tired, he replied with 'Don't worry babe, I got it!' He was so understanding during that phase of hunger and tiredness... it was great! :)
  
• Of course I forgot to mention all the excitement with being pregnant! That is definitely the best part when we get to share the joy with friends and family, and of course discovering all the fun and crazy changes with starting a family.
  
• Thank You Grammy! Thanksto the Materi women genes, I have not had any morning sickness, or nausea at all this pregnancy (besides the aversion to chicken!). But I feel so lucky to have felt and still feel so great this pregnancy.
  
• Garage Sales! We have been making killings on barely used baby stuff at all the awesome sales out here in Highlands Ranch. It is helping us figure out what we need, and of course adding to all the excitement.

THE LOWS

• Is it tired in here or is it just me? Man... that first trimester was BRUTAL. I would sneak out to my car at work for a 20 minute cat nap just to get me through the day. Oh and on occasion, if we had to head to the store to pick up groceries for dinner I would try to catch a quick nap on the drive home (we live less than a mile away from the store!) haha

• Pregnesia - definition: Pregnancy Induced Amnesia. I am sure those of you that are pregnant, or have been pregnant know exactly what I am talking about here.

Well just realized that this blog is already pretty long, so those of you that are still with me, thanks for reading on... Below are the Ultrasounds from our 12 week appointment. The second one is a 3D image. It was so great to see our little bambino moving around. Even though bino was only 2 inches, he/she was moving around wildy, and of course would not cooperate for the images! It was so much fun.

Oh one last thing! We scheduled our appointment to determine the sex. That date is set for September 21 - We are so anxious to find out!

Bambino at 12 weeks

3D Image of Bambino